Collapsible tube



Jwme23,1936. G. KELLNER' 2,045,190

COLLAPS IBLE TUBE Filed Sept. 1, 1934 Patented June 23, 1936 1 UNITED STATES COLLAPSIBLE TUBE Gustav Kellner, Munich, Germany Application September 1, 1934, Serial No. 742,500 In Germany September '7, 1933 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to a collapsible tube specially adapted for squirting thin liquids, such as perfumes, disinfectants, cosmetics and the like. For such thin liquids the discharge aperture must be very minute indeed, much more so than in the case of tubes for pastes or thick liquids, in order to prevent the thin liquid from flowing out of its own accord when the tube is open and also to prevent waste of liquid when the tube is pressed. In the case of such fine apertures of only a few hundredths of a millimetre inside diameter it is necessary to provide means to prevent clogging of the aperture without impairing the simple and economic manufacture of the tube.

The collapsible tube according to the present invention fulfills these requirements entirely, it being possible to make the aperture of any desired degree of fineness without danger of clogging during use. Also, a renewed opening up of the aperture is entirely avoided. In this new tube the discharge aperture will retain its initial dimensions until the contents are entirely used up.

In the accompanying drawing two forms of execution of the tube according to the present invention are shown in a side elevation and partly in section.

a is the body of the tube of the usual form, b the threaded neck of the tube and c the partition closing the neck of the tube.

According to the present invention, the capillary aperature e is located in the partition 0 and said aperture is provided with a nozzle-like extension (1. This extension serves as a reinforcement and at the same time forms a nozzle for the ejection of the liquid. This nozzle gives the jet a certain direction according to the angle formed with the partition 0. By this arrangement the employment of such tubes is greatly facilitated, the jet of liquid being directed to the side, even when the tube is held in a horizontal position.

The aperture e with its extension or nozzle (2 can be made in various ways, for instance, by puncturing the partition 0 with a fine needle, the extension at being simultaneously formed as a burr in consequence of the softness of the material. The puncturing can be done from the inside in case of unfilled tubes as is shown in Fig. l, and it is also shown that the extension or nozzle at will project outwardly and that the nozzle cannot become closed by pressure exerted on the tube. The partition 0 is arranged so deep within the neck 27 of the tube that cap f (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2) cannot abut against nozzle d; but it is obvious that cap 1 may also be recessed and partition 0 with its aperture e then made flush with the top of neck I).

When the tube is squeezed, the thin liquid will 5 be squirted out at an angle, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, and it is therefore possible to direct the jet of liquid to any desired spot without the necessity of bringing the tube right up against the spot in question. 10

Fig. 2 shows a form of execution of the present invention in which the partition 0 together with the discharge aperture e and extension or nozzle d are in the form of a separate insert, which is placed in position in neck 12 of the complete tube 15 body a. This arrangement has various advantages. In the first place, the insert piece c may be of other material than the tube itself, for instance, of a chemically insensitive (non-oxidizing) material, thus eliminating the danger of the 20 discharge apertures being reduced or becoming clogged in consequence of chemical action. Or I again, it is possible to make the partition 0 and with it the nozzle or extension at as thick and strong as may be desired and then to form the aperture e by drilling. The fixing of partition 0 in position may also be done in various ways; as a rule it will be sufficient to press it tightly into the neck I), for which purpose the latter may be stepped.

It is further possible to produce the partition 0 by dipping the neck b into molten metal, the latter hardening in the form of a lens within neck I).

I claim: 35

1. A collapsible tube for perfumes, drugs and other thin liquid cosmetics having a neck, a partition closing the neck located inwardly of the outer end of the neck, the said partition having a discharge aperture of capillary fineness, and an 40 outwardly extending nozzle-like projection communicating with the discharge aperture, the said projection being wholly within the neck and forming a guide for a jet issuing from the tube.

2. A collapsible tube according to claim 1 in which the nozzle-like extension is integral with the partition and has an opening gradually reduced in diameter from its inner to its outer end.

3. A collapsible tube as per claim 1 character- 50 ized by having the partition integral with the neck.

4. A collapsible tube as per claim 1 characterized by having the partition seated in the neck.

5. A collapsible tube as per claim 1 in which 5 the nozzle discharges at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the tube.

6. A collapsible tube as per claim 1 in which the apertures in the partition and nozzle are of gradually reduced diameter from the inner to the outer ends of said opening and channel.

7. A method of making a spraying container in which a collapsible tube having a neck comprises the container, the said method consisting in applying a. malleable diaphragm to the neck of the tube, puncturing the diaphragm from within the tube to form an outwardly extending burr constituting a spraying nozzle, filling the tube with liquid and sealing the said tube.

8. A method of making a spraying container in which a collapsible tube having a neck comprises the container, the said method consisting in applying a malleable diaphragm to the neck of the tube, puncturing the diaphragm from within the tube to form an outwardly extending burr constituting a spraying nozzle, the aforesaid container having the nozzle being adapted for 10 filling with a liquid to be sprayed.

GUSTAV KELLNER. 

